HR Business Partner

Waddington Brown; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Chelmsford seeks an HR Business Partner to lead employee relations and cultural engagement. You’ll manage a team and collaborate with senior leaders while driving initiatives that promote positive workplace culture and compliance with UK employment law. This role offers a chance to make a significant impact and comes with competitive benefits, including a performance-related bonus and up to 35 days of holiday.

Benefits

Performance related bonus

Healthcare support scheme

Up to 35 days holiday including bank holidays

Enhanced pension scheme

Qualifications

• Strong track record in employee relations and case management.
• Experience managing and developing a team.
• A commercial mindset and skilled in driving engagement.

Responsibilities

• Lead employee relations strategy and manage complex cases.
• Drive employee engagement and cultural change initiatives.
• Support transformational projects such as restructures.

Skills

Employee relations

Data analysis

Coaching

Problem-solving

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Education

CIPD Level 5 qualification

Job description

HR Business Partner (Employee Relations)

Are you a passionate HR professional who thrives on creating positive workplace cultures, driving employee engagement, and leading complex employee relations strategies? This is a fantastic opportunity to join a purpose-led organisation that is committed to transforming lives and empowering independence through excellence in care.

As an HR Business Partner, you’ll be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, shaping the people agenda and ensuring colleagues feel valued, supported, and aligned with the organisation’s vision. You’ll lead a small team and partner closely with HR colleagues and operational leaders to deliver proactive HR strategies that make a real impact on employee wellbeing, retention, and performance.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading on employee relations strategy – managing complex cases, coaching managers, and ensuring compliance with UK employment law.
• Leading, coaching, and developing an Employee Relations team.
• Driving employee engagement and cultural change through initiatives that enhance motivation, retention, and workplace satisfaction.
• Partnering with leaders to embed values of fairness, inclusion, and transparency, and championing a culture where colleagues feel heard and supported.
• Supporting transformational projects such as TUPE, restructures, and culture change programmes.
• Using people data to identify trends, mitigate risks, and design commercially focused improvement plans.

About you:

• Minimum CIPD Level 5 qualified
• Strong track record in employee relations, case management, and UK employment law.
• Experience of managing and developing a team.
• A commercial mindset with the ability to manage challenging conversations.
• Experience influencing and coaching senior stakeholders with confidence.
• Skilled in driving engagement and culture change in complex organisations.
• Commercially astute with strong data analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Flexible and collaborative, with the ability to travel between sites as needed.

Why join?
This is a chance to make a tangible difference to both people and culture. You’ll join a values-driven organisation that believes in caring, integrity, teamwork, and excellence, and you’ll play a key role in shaping its future. In addition to salary, benefits include performance related bonus, healthcare support scheme, up to 35 days holidays inc Bank holidays, enhanced pension scheme, plus other benefits and discounts.

If you’re looking for a senior HR role where your expertise can directly improve employee experience and organisational impact, we’d love to hear from you. We are particularly keen to hear from individuals who are immediately available. For an informal conversation, please contact Eithne Sanders at Waddington Brown.